TRURO, N.S.—The younger brother of a soldier whose death has raised questions about the Canadian military's treatment of those with post-traumatic stress disorder says members of the military need to know help is available if they are suffering.

Speaking before Warrant Officer Michael McNeil's funeral Thursday, Kevin McNeil said PTSD is a problem that is not going to stop, but the risks can be minimized.

“The most we can do is maybe slow it down,” McNeil said outside the armoury in Truro, N.S.

“As much money as government is going to pour into this, it's not going to stop. What we can do is make more people aware, more families going through the same thing we are going through to talk to these soldiers, know their jobs aren't in jeopardy and we're here for them.”

McNeil's death at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, northwest of Ottawa, is among four recent suicides in the military.

In Ottawa on Thursday, former soldiers suffering PTSD pleaded with the federal government to provide more support to veterans who are struggling to deal with the consequences of their military service.

A visibly distraught Kate MacEachren told a news conference in Ottawa the heart-wrenching story of how she nearly took her own life a little over a year ago after learning that she may be forced out of uniform.

MacEachren said she doesn’t believe the prime minister or military brass when they tell soldiers in distress that help is available.

“Lots of words are now being spoken, but it’s too late for some,” she said. “Why did we have to wait until now?”

The government says soldiers and their families trying to cope with PTSD can call a confidential toll-free referral service at 1-800-268-7708.

But another veteran, Mike Cole from Trenton, Ont., said soldiers are telling him that when they call, they get put on hold, or are simply told to go to the hospital.

MacEachren is a former corporal who quit the military last summer after being ordered not to repeat a 2012 fundraising walk in aid of injured soldiers.

She called on the government — and Canadians at large — to do everything possible to prevent further deaths.

“The conversation needs to happen,” she pleaded tearfully. “Please, no more of my brothers and sisters. We can’t lose any more. One is too many. Four is a national tragedy.”

MacEachren says former defence minister Peter MacKay offered words of encouragement when she completed her first fundraising walk, but they now ring hollow.

“He told me that day that if I ever needed anything to contact his office,” she said. “2,080 miles later, and many more tears than that, I never saw nor heard from him again.”

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